The impact of leader–follower power distance congruence on employees’ job role performance in the digital workplace

Abstract The advancement of globalization and the deep penetration of digital technologies have profoundly transformed organizational power structures and multicultural integration, thereby imposing higher demands on the dynamic balance of power distance between leaders and followers. Based on the social comparison theory, this study examines how the power distance congruence between leaders and followers affects employees' job role performance in the digital workplace. Using two-stage data collection, this study analyzed paired questionnaires data from 70 leaders and 265 followers in enterprises with a digital workplace, using polynomial regression, response surface analysis, and block variable methods for empirical testing. The results indicate that the higher of leader–follower power distance congruence, the stronger employees' positive followership behavior becomes. Compared with the scenario of high leader–high follower power distance congruence, low leader-low follower power distance congruence stimulates stronger positive followership behavior. Under the condition of incongruence, low leader-high follower power distance is more conducive to promoting positive followership than the reverse. Employees' positive followership behavior mediates the relationship between leader–follower power distance congruence and employees' job role performance. Specifically, a higher chronic promotion regulatory focus strengthens the mediating effect of positive followership behavior. This study enriches research on leader–follower power distance by offering a more comprehensive and dialectical explanation from a matching perspective, providing practical insights for enhancing employees' job role performance in the digital workplace.